Production of accordion type folding doors



Oct. 2, 1962 w. E. JOHNSON ETAL 3,056,193

PRODUCTION OF' ACCORDION TYPE FOLDING DOORS Filed April 28, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 OOGO 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 W. E. JOHNSON ETAL PRODUCTION OF' ACCORDION TYPE FOLDING DOORS Filed April 28. 1960 Oct. 2, 1962 272067Z Z676 Wernerl/SFLfz/SM C/ R195 erf/1I 15' cmeZz f Oct. 2, 1962 w. E. JOHNSON ETAL 3,056,193 PRODUCTION OF AOOORDION TYPE FOLDING DOORS Filed April 28, 19Go 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 5, Q w W ,A6 9% L JLM Q ,-m. www J if f if? Oct. 2, 1962 w. E. JOHNSON ETAL PRODUCTION OF' ACCORDION TYPE FOLDING 'DOORS Filed April 28. 1960 Ef@ f2' Z d 5 1 Q United States Patent (')fltice PRODUCTIN F This invention relates to the production of accordion type folding doors, and particularly to the production of such doors where foldable outer covers are secured in position on internal supporting frame structures of the door.

Accordion type folding doors are utilized in most instances as closures for wall or door openings of conventional sizes, but in other instances, doors of this kind may be utilized in series for providing closures for relatively large door openings so as to be in the nature of partitions that divide large rooms into smaller separate units. It is the usual practice in such accordion doors to provide spaced vertical edge posts that are suspended by roller means from an overhead track, and one of these edge posts is usually connected to one side of the door frame, while the other edge post constitutes the movable edge of the door. The edge posts are conventionally interconnected by lazytong means so that the shiftable edge post may be moved toward and away from the xed edge post to open and close the door, and such lazytong means serve to guide and connect the edge posts during the relative movements thereof and serve also to support and properly space the folding panels of the covers of such doors. The covers of course serve also to conceal the lazytongs and provide finished surfaces for the doors.

Accordion doors of the general kind to which this invention relates are shown in the prior patent to Ensign and Cardoza No. 2,860,697 and the Ensign and Holloway Patent No. 2,801,687, while an improved structure in a door of this character is illustrated in our copending application Serial No. 850,874, tiled November 4, 1959 and now abandoned. In these prior patents and our copending application, the accordion type folding doors are of the kind where folding paneled covers are removably supported on the lazytong means that form part of the internal supporting frame structure, and the present in vention is concerned with an improved method of producing and assembling doors of the aforesaid character so as to simplify the production thereof and assure a proper folding action in the completed doors.

In the doors of the aforesaid character, the paneled covers are made up in the form of laminated structures wherein alternate wide and narrow slats are laminated between and adhesively secured to inner and outer cover sheets so that, in the spaces between adjacent paneled slats, the cover sheets afford the pivotal connections whereby the several slats may be pivoted with respect to each other during the opening and closing of the doors. In a completed door, it is essential that the folding action of the covers of the doors be coordinated with the movements of the internal supporting structure, and when the covers are not properly related to the internal folding structure, there tends to be a binding action in the door in its opening and closing movements, and in some instances there tends to be a displacement of the movable edge post out of the general plane of the door so that the bottom of the edge post is displaced from such vertical plane.

We have determined that such improper operation of the doors of this general kind has been due in substantial measure to the improper location and relationship of the snap fasteners or other supporting means that support the cover on the internal frame structure, and an important Patented Oct. l2, 1952 object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved method for making the covers or doors of the aforesaid character so that the covers are, in each instance, related to the internal supporting structure in such a way that proper operation of the door will be assured. Other and related objects are to coordinate the mounting vof the primary supporting means on the cover with the location of the fastening openings that are utilized in association with Vthe edge posts of the doors, and to accomplish the foregoing in such a way that the relationship of the covers to the internal supporting structure and to the edge post of the door may be established relatively easily and may be adjusted in the final assembly of the door to take care of any irregularities that may be found in the covers or in the internal frame structure with which they are associated.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims, and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which, by way of illustration, show the preferred way of practicing the present invention and the principles thereof, and what is now considered to be the best mode in which to apply these principles. The same or equivalent principles may be used and changes may be made in the method and in the apparatus used in carrying out the ethod as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. l is a front elevational View of an accordion type door produced in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a large fragmental vertical sectional View taken substantially along the line 2-2 of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view at an enlarged scale of the door and shown in FIG. l, the outer covers having been removed;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the door shown in FIGS. 1 t0 3;

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the lines 5-.5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view of one of the covers and a portion of the internal supporting structure;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged and somewhat schematic vertical sectional view showing the way in which one of the covers is supported in a partially folded relation for the location or mounting `of the female snap fasteners on certain of the slats of the cover;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the structure shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 9 -9 of FIG. 8 to show the way in which the cover is supported during the fastener locating operation;

FIG. 10 is arschematic plan view illustrating the way in which a cover is supported for forming the mounting openings in the edge slats in a predetermined relationship to the snap fasteners; and

FIG. 1l is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 11-11 of FIG. l0.

For purposes of disclosure, the method of the present invention will be described herein as applied specifically to the accordion type folding doorstructure disclosed in our aforesaid copending application which illustrates a door 29 that is mounted in a door frame 21. The specific disclosures of the aforesaid copending application are incorporated herein by reference. The door 20 is supported at its upper edge in a track 22 so that the door 20 may be opened by an accordion folding action in which the left hand edge of the door, FIG. l, is moved away from the left jamb of the frame 21, or may be closed by moving the left hand edge of the door toward such jambto the position shown in FIG. 1. The door 2t) may be latched or locked in its closed position by latch structure 3 L of the kind shown in Ensign Patent No. 2,861,660, patented November 25, 1958.

The door 2t), as herein illustrated, comprises an inner supporting structure S that is disposed between and concealed by outer foldable covers C that are supported on the structure S, as shown in plan in FiG. 4. The inner structure S is best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and has a fixed vertical post 23 secured as by screws 24 to one side of the door frame 21, and a movable post 25 that is suspended at its upper end from the track 22 by means including a roller carriage 26 that rides in the track 22 so that the post 25 may be moved toward and away from the xed post 23.

The two posts 23 and 25 are connected by a plurality of lazytongs 26 and 27, the lazytongs 26 being located relatively close to the upper edge of the door structure, while the lazytongs '27 are located close to the lower edge of the door structure.

The lazytongs 26 and 27 are identical in construction and relation, and it should be recognized that in some instances, more than two lazytongs may be utilized in connecting the posts 23 and 25. As applied to the lazytongs 26, and particularly as shown in FIG. 3 of the drawings, the lazytongs comprises a plurality of links 23 and 29 that are connected together in pairs at their mid points by pivot pins 3d. Several pairs of such links are connected together as shown in FIG. 3, there being four such pairs of links in the present instance, and at the ends of the assembly thus provided, additional end link structures are provided. Thus, at the right hand end of the lazytongs 26 in FiG. 3, end link 28E is provided, and a similar end link 29E is connected to the upper end of the adjacent link 28 by a short link 29E. At the other end of the structure a short end link 28S is provided, and this short end link 28S is connected by a pivot pin 36E, to the mid point of the end link 29E. The short link 29S is similarly connected to the mid point of the link 29E by a pivot pin 39E. As will be evident in FIG. 4, the end links 28E and 29E are of double construction so that the respective short links 29S and 23S have the lower ends disposed between the two elements of the double links.

At their lower ends the links 2.8 and 29 are connected by pivot pins that have extended ends and which serve as support pins 35, and similar support pins are provided for connecting the short links 23S and 29S to the adjacent links 29 and 2S, respectively. All of the support pins are thus arranged so that they are in a horizontal line and will remain in such horizontal line and will be evenly spaced as the lazytongs are contracted or extended.

The upper ends of the end links 28E and 29E are connected, respectively, to the posts 23 and 25 by pivots 36 that are carried in mounting brackets 37 that are secured to the respective posts, and hence the lazytongs are extended in a closing movement of the door, and are contracted or shortened in an opening movement of the door.

The lazytongs 26 is preferably supported in one or more intermediate points so that the weight of the intermediate portions of the covers will be carried more directiy by the track, and this is desirable to enable a relatively light and inexpensive structure to be used in such lazytongs. For this purpose, as herein shown, a support bracket 39 has its lower end connected to the central pivot pin 35 of the upper lazytongs 26, and the upper end of the support bracket 39 has rollers 40 secured thereto so as to roll in the track 22 and thus support the intermediate portions of the lazytongs 26, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

As herein shown the fixed or stationary edge post 23 has what may be called a slider fixed thereto so as to extend upwardly from the upper end of the post 23 to support the same from the track 22 as sho-wn in FIG. 3. The slider 45 is mounted on the upper end of the post Cia d.. 23 by means of a bracket e6, and this arrangement is employed to facilitate the initial location of the post 23 in the proper vertical relationship so that it can be fastened in place by means of screws 24.

The edge posts 23 and 25 are made from sheet metal channels, and the stationary edge post 23 is made from a single channel, as will be evident in FIG. 3, while the other or shiftable edge post 25 is made up of two channels 25A and 25B that are secured together by means including a plurality of fastening screws 47 as shown in an aforesaid copending application. The screws 47 also serve to secure an edge member 48 in place, this edge member being in the nature of a metal extrusion providing an undercut groove in which a resilient bumper bar 49 may be mounted.

The covers C are made from a plurality of alternately arranged wide slats 51 and narrow slats 52 and 52M, as shown in FIG. 6 of the drawings, and these slats are made from a relatively rigid material such as heavy cardboard, and are connected together in a hinged relation by inner and outer flexible sheets 53 and 54 which are laminated onto and adhesively joined to the respective faces of the slats 51, 52 and 52M in such a relationship as to slightly space the slats laterally from each other. This spacing provides intermediate portions of the cover sheets which serve as hinges 54 between the adjacent slats, as shown in FIG. 6 of the drawings. The outer cover sheet 54 is usually made of a decorative texture and color and may take the form of a plastic sheet material, while the inner cover sheet 53 may be made of paper or any other flexible material as desired. At the edges of the covers C, edge slats 55 and 56 are provided which are used to anchor the edges of the covers to the edge posts 23 and 25, respectively, and these edge slats are of a width corresponding to the width of the respective edge posts with which they are to be associated. Thus, the edge Slat 56 is somewhat wider than the edge slat 55, as will be evident in FiG. 4. The particular manner in which the edge slats 55 and 56 are associated with the edge posts will be described in detail hereinafter.

The covers C are removably associated with the inner supporting structure S of the door in such a way as to be readily mounted and dismounted with respect to such structure, and in accomplishing this, the support pins 35, FiG. 5, are formed as the male elements of a snap fastener structure, while female snap fastener elements 60 are mounted on alternate slats 52M of the cover for cooperation with the male snap fastener elements provided by the support pins 35.

As shown particularly in FIG. 5, of the drawings, the support pins 35 are provided with an enlarged flange 35F displaced somewhat from the midpoint of the support pins so that a support pin may be extended through aligned openings in the adjacent ends of links 28 and 29 to provide a pivotal connection therebetween, and a spring toothed type of retaining washer 62 is put in place on the other side of the two links to hold the links in position between the flange 35E and the retaining washer 62. When thus mounted, the opposite ends of the pin project from the opposite sides of the links 28 and 29 to substantially the same extent, and near each of its end the pin has an annular groove 63 so as to dene end heads 64 that have squared shoulders at what may be termed their inner faces and have tapered annular shoulders at their outer faces.

The female snap fastener units are formed by plastic molding in two parts and in such a way that they may be associated with the narrow slats 52M. Thus each snap fastener unit 60 comprises an outer part 70 and an inner part 71, and these two parts are connected together by projecting fastening pins 72 that form parts of the outer member 70 through relatively small openings 73 in the narrow slats for permanent connection of the pins '72 with the inner element of the snap fastener unit. The specific structure of the snap fastener unit 6i) is disclosed in some detail in our aforesaid copending application, and reference is made to such copending applicationfor such specific details. It may be pointed out, however, that the inner unit 71 of the female snap fastener has a rectangular plate 7llP through which the pins 72 are extended and to t which such pins are secured by cold forming of the ends of the pins. The plates '71P of the inner units have gauge faces 71G at the upper and lower ends thereof, these gauge faces being parallel to each other and being perpendicular to the plane defined by the axes of the openings in which the pins 72 are secured.

it may be pointed out thatthe inner units 7l of the snap fasteners have internally flanged axial openings therein to receive the snap fastener heads 655 of the support pins 35, and this structure is disclosed in detail in our aforesaid copending application.

In the completed door, the covers C are removablY supported on the internal structure S of the door by engagement of the several snap fasteners 6i) with the support pins 35 of the internal structure, and the covers are further secured on the door by fastening the edge slats 55 and 56 to the edge posts 23 and 25, respectively. The specific structure of the fastener means employed for'this purpose are illustrated and described in detail in our aforesaid copending application, and reference is made to such copending application for such disclosure. For present purposes, it may be pointed out that such securing means are provided by a plurality of fasteners Si) that are shown in FIGS. l and 2 of the drawings. Each of such Vfasteners comprises an outer head 8i having an inwardly projecting stem 82 extended therefrom and at the inner end of this stem a cross bar 83 is provided. As described in detail in our aforesaid cop-ending application, the fasteners Si) are put in place by inserting the cross bar `through vertical slots 85 and 86 that are formed respectively in the cover C and at the side flange member of the related edge post 23 or 25. Then, by turning the fastener through 90, the Vcross bar 83 is engaged with the inside of the edge post so as `to thereby clamp the edge slat of the cover against the edge post as described in detail is our aforesaid copending application.

As will be pointed vout in detail hereinafter, the final assembly of the cover C on the internal supporting lstructure S of a door may involve some vertical shifting or adjustment of the edge slats with respect to the edge posts, and this is possible because the stems S2 of the fasteners Si? may be shifted upwardly or downwardly in the slots S6 of the edge posts. With respect to the lock structure L, openings 92 in the covers are elongated somewhat in a vertical direction as shown in FIG. 2 so that the inwardly projecting portions of the lock, as well as the `screws that fasten the handle plate 90 against the cover C, will not interfere with this limited vertical adjustment of such edge slats with respect to the edge posts.

Under and in accordance with the present invention, the production of the accordion type folding doors is simplified by a method of procedure which assures that the several snap fasteners 60 will be located in a horizontal line that is perpendicular to the fold lines 54 that are formed between the several slats of the cover. This is accomplished in a broad sense by determining the location of the several snap fasteners on and with respect to the cover while the cover is in a partially folded relationship so that any inaccuracies that may have been embodied in the cover in the laminating operation will be taken into account in determining the locations of the snap fasteners 60. The method of procedure that is ernployed under the present invention is schematically illustrated in FIGS. 7 to 1l of the drawings. Thus in FIG. 7, a supporting table 95 is illustrated in cross Section and has a plurality of parallel longitudinal ribs 96 formed thereon. The ribs 96 have converging side surfaces 96S that merge with flat top surfaces, while between the ribs, fiat bottom surfaces 87 may be provided. The ribs 96 are so proportioned that a cover C may be put in position thereon with the narrow supporting slats 52M located on top of the -several top surfaces 96T of the ribs, and with the wide slats 51 extending downwardly into the grooves lbetween the ribs 96 with the wide slats 51 against the side surfaces 96S of the ribs, and with the narrow slats 52 at the bottoms of the grooves in engagement with the bottom surfaces 97. Such engagement of the slots 52 with the bottom surfaces 97 is not, however, an essential characteristic, since the objective of the ribbed supporting surface is to Support the cover C in a folded relationship wherein the slats 52M are parallel to each other and the several pivot joints 54 are partially flexed and are parallel to each other. When thus supported, the cover C is in a partially folded relationship somewhat like the folded relationship that it assumes when the door `on which the cover is used is in its open relationship and while the cover C is thus supported, the openings 73 that are to be provided in the slats 52M are formed so that corresponding openings 73 are located along a gauge line G that is perpendicular to the fold lines 54 of the door. This gauge line G bears a predetermined spaced relationship to a gauging means 98 which is engaged with the end of one of the slats of the door, and hence any slight variations that may be present in the upper edge of the cover C do not in any way disturb the aligned relationship of the openings 73 that are formed while the cover C is in its position on the ribbed bed 95.

After the openings '73 have been formed, the snap fasteners 60 are put in place, and this may be done while the cover C is in position on the ribbed bed, or may be done at some other work station, the location of the several snap fasteners being determined by the accurately located openings 73 that have been formed as above described.

After the snap fasteners 60 are in position on the cover C, the gauging surfaces 71G of the snap fastener serve as a means for locating the cover while the appropriate openings 85 are formed in the edge slats 55 and 56 of the cover. Thus the cover C with its several snap fasteners 60 thereon is put in position on a work table with the snap fasteners 6o positioned against a gauging face 99 such as the end of the table T, as illustrated schematically in FIG. 11 of the drawings. The table T is herein shown as being ribbed like the table 95, but this is not essential. With the cover C thus located on the table T, the several openings 35 as well as the openings 92 that are to be formed in the slats, may be formed in precise locations along the end slats by measurement from the gauging surface 99. When the snap fasteners 6i) `are thus located along a line that is perpendicular to the natural foldlines of the cover C, it is found that the cover C has an improved folding action when it is put in position on the internal supporting structures of the door. Furthermore, after the snap fasteners 60 have been connected to the several support pins 35 of the internal support structure, the final securing operations with respect to cover C may be performed in such a way that this improved folding action of the covers is preserved. Thus, the edge fasteners are extended through the several openings and the related post openings 86, and while holding the edge posts at proper parallel positions the covers C are adjusted longitudinally with respect to the posts until the proper folding action of the adjacent panels is attained. In such adjustment the stems 82 of the fasteners 80 are shifted up or down in the slots 86 of the edge posts. The fasteners 80 are then rotated to their final or clamping position. This assures that the folding action of the cover will take place in the proper manner and will not cause any binding or canting -of the door in its opening and closing movements.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the present invention materially simplifies the production of accordion type folding doors, and particularly it will be evident that the wav in which the supporting members are located on and with respect to the covers assures that the covers will have a uniform and proper folding action in the completed doors. It will also be apparent that the present invention enables undesired canting or binding of the doors in the opening and closing of such doors to be eliminated, and that this is accomplished in a simple manner.

Thus, while the method of this invention has been illustrated herein by reference to a particular door structure, it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

l. In the production of accordion type doors in which a pair of posts that define the opposite edges of the door are connected by upper and lower lazytongs for relative approaching and separating movements and projecting support elements on the lazytongs on which covers comprising alternate wide slats and narrow pivot slats as well as edge slats pivotally joined together by means including sheets adhered thereto are supported by support members fixed in alternate ones of said pivot slats of the covers, the method of coordinating the folding7 characteristics of the covers with the folding action Vof the lazytongs which includes the steps of supporting the cover in a partially folded relation with the fold lines of the cover in parallel relation, forming locating openings in each cover for 4the support members while the cover is in said partially folded relation with said openings located along lines that are perpendicular to the fold lines of the cover, securing the support members in the positions determined by said locating openings, utilizing a plurality of said support members =as a gauging means and forming other fastening openings in the edge slats `of the cover by measurement from such gauging means, putting said covers in position on the lazytongs by engaging the support members of the covers with said support elements of the lazytongs, and thereafter utilizing said other fastening openings in securing the edge slats to said edge posts in relationships determined by the relation in which the covers are suspended from the lazytongs.

2. In the production of accordion type `doors in which a pair of posts that define the opposite edges of the door are connected by upper and lower lazytongs for relative approaching and separating movements and projecting horizontal pivot pins on the lazytongs constitute male snap fasteners on which covers comprising alternate wide slats and narrow pivot slats as well as edge slats pivotally joined together by means including sheets adhered thereto are supported by female snap fasteners fixed in alternate ones of said pivot slats of the covers, the method of coordinating the folding characteristics of the covers with the folding action of the lazytongs which includes the steps of supporting the cover in a partially folded relation with the fold lines of the cover in parallel relation7 forming locating openings in each cover for the female snap fasteners while the cover is in said partially folded relation with said openings located along lines that are perpendicular to the fold lines of the cover, securing the female snap fasteners in the positions determined by said locating openings, utilizing a plurality of said female snap fasteners as a gauging means and forming other fastener openings in the edge slats of the cover by measurement from `such gauging means, putting said covers in position on the lazytongs by engaging the female snap fasteners of the covers with said male snap fasteners, and thereafter utilizing said other fastening openings in securing the edge slats to said edge posts in relationships determined by the relation in which the covers are suspended from the lazytongs.

3. In the production of accordion type doors in which a pair of posts that define the opposite edges of the door are connected by upper and lower lazytongs for relative approaching and separating movements and projecting support elements on the lazytongs on which covers comprising alternate wide slats and narrow pivot slats as well as edge slats pivotally joined together by means including sheets adhered thereto are supported by support members fixed in alternate ones of said pivot slats of the covers, the method of simplifying the coordination of the folding characteristics of the covers and the folding action of the lazytongs which includes the steps of forming vertically elongated fastening openings in the side faces of the edge posts, supporting each cover in a partially folded relation with the fold lines of the cover in parallel relation, forming locating openings in each cover for the support members while the cover is in said partially folded relation with said openings located along lines that are perpendicular to the fold lines of the cover, securing the support members on the covers in the positions determined by said locating openings, utilizing a plurality of said support members as a gauging means and forming edge fastening openings in the edge slats of the cover in locations corresponding substantially with the locations of said .elongated openings of the edge posts as determined by measurement from such gauging mea-ns, putting said covers in position on the lazytongs by engaging the support members of the covers with said support elements of the lazytongs, and thereafter extending fasteners through the edge fastening openings and the related elongated openings, said other fastening openings, adjusting the edge slats vertically relative to said edge posts to relationships wherein said edge posts remain in a common plane during opening and closing of the assembled door, and tightening the fasteners with the edge slats in such relationships.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,353,456 Coryell Sept. 21, 1920 1,710,744 Roe Apr. 30, 1929 2,782,845 Johnson Feb. 26, 1957 2,860,697 Ensign Nov. 18, 1959 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE 0F CORRECTION Patent No. 3,056, 193 October 2, 1962 Werner E. Johnson et a1.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 1, line 34, for "doors" read door 5, line 74, for "87" read 97 out 96T"; column 8,

; column column 6, line 2, strikte lines 3 and 4, for "fastener" read Signed and sealed this 26th day of February 1963.,

(SEAL) Attest:

ESTON Go JHNSON DAVID L. LADD Attesting Officer l y Commissioner of Patents 

